The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Salvia plant botanically known as Salvia nemorosa and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Blue Marvel’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Hem, The Netherlands during August 2010. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Salvia cultivars having large flowers and compact growth habits.
The new Salvia cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Salvia nemorosa breeding selection coded H57-8, not patented, characterized by its dark blue-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Salvia nemorosa breeding selection coded C7713-1, not patented, characterized by its light blue-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during June 2011 in a controlled environment in Hem, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since June 2011 in Hem, The Netherlands and Elburn, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.